Chapter 861: Spies
In the depths of this estate was a standalone practice grounds, and on both its sides stood an entire row of pavilions.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
...
Under Ke Zheng's lead, Duan Ling Tian had just approached the practice grounds when he heard a wave of enormous bangs that were like thunderclaps sounding out from within.
When he looked carefully, he saw two young men around the ages of 35 sparring with each other.
Both of them were equally matched, and it was difficult to decide a victor.
"Two second level Void Interpretation Stage martial artists?" Duan Ling Tian's eyes narrowed slightly as he focused his gaze on the two young men in the distance, and his Spiritual Force stretched out in the first possible moment to detect their cultivations.
"They're the two Void Interpretation Stage disciples our Wood Peak has recruited lately." Ke Zheng said to Duan Ling Tian, "You're the third."
"Okay." DLT nodded Actually, even if Ke Zheng didn't say anything, he'd roughly guessed the identities of those two people.
"Ke Zheng!" Right at this moment, an aged figure flashed out from a pavilion at the side of the practice grounds, and it seemed to have transformed into a gust of wind that arrived before Duan Ling Tian and the others. It was a one armed old man.
The old man's eyes glowed with bright lights as he faintly emitted an unfathomable aura, and he was obviously an existence with extraordinary strength.
"Another Void Transformation Stage expert!" Duan Ling Tian's brows raised and was shocked in his heart.
"Senior Brother!" Ke Zheng bowed respectfully when facing this one armed old man, and he didn't dare be disrespectful.
"Martial Uncle!" Chen Wei bowed along with Ke Zheng.
"How're your results this time?" The one armed old man asked with slight anticipation.
From the beginning until the end, he didn't spare a glance to the nearby Duan Ling Tian and Ye Xuan. Perhaps, as far as her was concerned, it was impossible for these two people to fulfil the requirements of the Five Element Sect when recruiting disciples far and wide this time.
Even though there were only two requirements when the Five Element Sect recruited disciples this time, these two requirements were nothing if they were split apart and there were crowds of people that could satisfy it.
However, when combined together, it could be considered to be harsh.
Below the age of 40!
A martial artist at the Void Interpretation Stage!
Even if it was within the Five Element Sect, there were only around 100 disciples at the Void Interpretation Stage who were below the age of 40, and even if it was divided equally amongst the five peaks, every peak only had 20 people.
"Senior Brother, he's Duan Ling Tian, and I recruited him for the Wood Peak. Besides that, this little girl by his side will be a disciple of our Wood Peak in the future as well." Ke Zheng smiled lightly as he introduced Duan Ling Tian and Ye Xuan to the one armed old man.
"Them?" The one armed old man frowned as he sized up Duan Ling Tian and Ye Xuan from top to bottom, and he thought that Ke Zheng had recruited them into the Wood Peak because their natural talent was great.
"Martial Uncle, don't look down on Brother Ling Tian just because of his age... With his strength, it's sufficient to defeat the joint forces of those two Junior Brothers with a single move." Chen Wei spoke as he looked at the two young men that had just stopped fighting, and his words were intentionally spoken loudly and clearly entered into their ears.
As expected, as soon as Chen Wei finished speaking, the two young men walked over with gloomy expressions.
The one armed old man glanced at Duan Ling Tian with astonishment when he heard Chen Wei, yet he didn't say anything further and instead awaited the arrival of the two young men with interest.
"Senior Brother Chen, we know we're inferior to you, but you can't humiliate us like this!" The two disciples that had just entered the Five Element Sect not long ago walked over in a short moment, and they looked at Duan Ling Tian with dark expressions. "He can defeat our joint forces with a single move?"
"Him!? On what basis?" The two Wood Peak disciples were extremely furious as they looked at Duan Ling Tian with provocative expressions.
"Hmph! My Big Brother Duan is much more formidable than the two of you." Ye Xuan grunted and spoke without holding back in the slightest.
"We have to try before we know if he's more formidable than the both of us... Elders, what do the both of you think?" As one of the Wood Peak disciples finished speaking, he used a requesting gaze to look at Ke Zheng and the one armed old man, and when he saw the two old men nod lightly, an evil smile suffused his face.
Subsequently, he looked at Duan Ling Tian and ridicule. "Kid, there's no need for the both of us to join forces... Just I alone am enough to defeat you with a single hand!"
"Is that so?" Duan Ling Tian started laughing indifferently.
He was able to discern that Chen Wei had stirred up this matter and Ke Zheng tacitly approved of this matter undoubtedly because they wanted to allow the one armed old man to witness his strength.
So he cooperated with them.
"Speak after you're capable of defeating my Big Brother Duan... Otherwise, you're just boasting!" Ye Xuan made faces at the Wood Peak disciple that provoked Duan Ling Tian, and she spoke childishly.
"Little girl, then I'll let you see how I use a single hand to..." The Wood Peak disciple revealed an evil smile as he raised his hand and spoke.
But he hadn't finished speaking when he felt a vast energy assaulting his face, and he hadn't reacted to what had happened when the vast energy had already descended onto him.
Bang!
In the next moment, he felt intense pain before his chest, causing his vital energy and blood to roil, and his entire body flew out like an arrow that left the bow and plunged fiercely to the ground after flying a distance.
"Good!" The one armed old man's eyes emitted a bright light as he stared at Duan Ling Tian as Duan Ling Tian had struck so swiftly earlier that even he couldn't help but be surprised. "Little Fellow, your strength is probably stronger than Chen Wei, right?"
"It's alright... I can blast him flying with a single strike." Duan Ling Tian spoke indifferently. He still remembered that it was Chen Wei who'd intentionally entrapped him earlier, so when he answered the one armed old man now, he didn't hold back in the slightest.
The one armed old man was stunned, and then he looked at Chen Wei. When he saw Chen Wei nod with a bitter smile, he couldn't help but laugh loudly. "Good, good!"
"Senior Brother, I'll leave Duan Ling Tian to you... Besides that, I've already promised Duan Ling Tian that I'll allow this little girl to join our Wood Peak." Ke Zheng spoke respectfully to the one armed old man before bidding farewell to Duan Ling Tian and Ye Xuan, and then he left with Chen Wei.
His entire movement was smooth like flowing water and extremely natural.
"You're called Duan Ling Tian?" The one armed old man looked at Duan Ling Tian and asked, and he completely didn't look down on Duan Ling Tian like he did before.
"Elder, what's your name?" Duan Ling Tian nodded.
"You can call me Elder Yang... Let's go, I'll arrange a place for the both of you to stay." The one armed old man warmly brought Duan Ling Tian and Ye Xuan towards the row of pavilions at the side of the practice grounds and arranged a residence for them.
"You weren't able to react in the slightest when he attacked earlier?" The other Wood Peak disciple supported the other disciple that was easily blasted flying by Duan Ling Tian and asked with astonishment.
"Yes." The latter gritted his teeth as he stood up, and besides a bitter smile, there was a trace of seriousness on his face. "We must report to Elder Tang as soon as possible that such a young expert has appeared in the Wood Peak!"
"You've suffered an injury, so return and rest first. I'll personally notify Elder Tang of this matter... I truly never imagined that a peak as weak as the Wood Peak would still be able to find such an outstanding young expert." The former took a deep breath and had an extremely serious expression.
"Alright." Subsequently, the injured Wood Peak disciple returned to the pavilion he resided in to rest, whereas, the other Wood Peak disciple walked out and left the Wood Peak's point of operation in Settlement City.
"Hmph!" All of this was noticed by the one armed old man, and he grunted coldly. "Sure enough, it's as I expected... Elder Tang? The Earth Peak is going slightly too far!" As he finished muttering to himself, the old man's eyes emitted two rays of cold lights, and his robe fluttered without the wind as a vast and boundless aura was emitted from his body.
"Interesting." Duan Ling Tian stood on the balcony on the pavilion as he looked at the one armed old man that descended from the sky, and the corners of his mouth were suffused with a smile.
He'd noticed the movements of those two Wood Peak disciples as well.
But never had he imagined that the two of them were actually spies.
"If Elder Ke knows that the two Wood Peak disciples he found are spies, I wonder what sort of expression he will have?" Unknowingly, a deep smile appeared on Duan Ling Tian's face.
As for the origins of those two spies, he was able to guess extremely easily that they were surely from the Water Peak, Fire Peak, or Earth Peak of the Five Element Sect.
"It's becoming more and more interesting." After Duan Ling Tian shook his head and smiled, he returned to his room to cultivate while comprehending Concept.
On another side of Settlement City.
A swift figure flew in through the wall of an enormous estate, and it arrived in the depths of the estate after a short while before finally stopping at a rear garden that was verdant with flowers and plants.
There was a pergola in the rear garden, and an old man was sitting within it while playing go.
The old man's left hand held the white pieces while his right held the black pieces, and he played by himself with extreme delight.
"Elder Tang." The unexpected guest revealed himself and arrived at the pergola before bowing respectfully to the old man.
The old man seemed to be not surprised in the slightest by the person's sudden appearance, and he continued playing as he asked indifferently. "Is there a situation?"
"Yes." The person replied before he said, "Ke Zheng brought a person back today."
"Oh? Ke Zheng really found a Void Interpretation Stage martial artist below the age of 40 from outside?" The old man was slightly surprised, yet he still continued playing, and his mood seemed to have not fluctuate in the slightest.
"Yes. That person is a young man that looks to be at the age of around 25 at most..." The person answered once more before speaking with a serious tone.
"25 years old?" The old man finally put down the pieces in his hand and looked at the person that had arrived, and he asked with a deep voice. "Are you sure he's a Void Interpretation Stage martial artist? Even in the Gold Peak of our Five Element Sect, a Void Interpretation Stage martial artist around the age of 25 is a genius in the Martial Dao that's difficult to come by in a hundred years!"
The person that arrived earlier nodded before saying with slight terror. "Chai Kun made a move against him yet wasn't able to react before being blasted flying by him... Besides that, Chen Wei said his strength is inferior to him."
"What?!" Finally, the old man's expression was covered in shock as he suddenly stood up, and he stared at the person before him with a fierce gaze. "He fought Chen Wei?"
"No." The person shook his head and said while the old man heaved a sigh of relief, "But when he told 'Yang Ling' that he'd blasted Chen Wei flying with a single strike, Chen Wei's expression seemed like...it was true."
"He blasted Chen Wei flying with a single strike?" The old man's pupils constructed as he muttered. "Then wouldn't his strength be at the fifth level of the Void Interpretation Stage or above? Are you sure he looks like a young man around the age of 25?"